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Both the Dumbing of Age Book One and Book 2 Kickstarters were a grand old time, but folks have been pining for Book 3. Well, it's once again Kickstartering Time!

Where the book gets its title

What is Dumbing of Age? It's a webcomic you can find on the Internet, and it's about freshman entering college. It stars Joyce, a fundamentalist Christian who was previously homeschooled, and her unlikely new friend Dorothy, an atheist who wants to be President. They're surrounded by a varied cast of fully-realized characters, such as Billie, the alcoholic ex-cheerleader with a Resident Assistant problem, and Amber, the Internet shut-in who solves her rage issues by dressing up like a superhero and fighting crime.

Book 3 includes the "Hangin' Out With My Family" storyline

This book would collect "Year Three," spanning the four storylines that start on November 12, 2012 and complete on October 23, 2013. This includes new commentary, behind-the-scenes artwork, and new character designs into an 180-page tome with luxurious glossy paper all bound up into a sturdy presentation. Seriously, these books are gorgeous. Sometimes when we get solicitors I whip out a book to show them how pretty it is.

Also there will be a Foreword by Magnolia Porter.

The Dina/Joyce flu shot saga!

To print 2000 copies of this first book at just under $7 apiece, I'll need to raise approximately $14,000 to afford the printing costs. Add postage costs and taxes (oof) and the like, and that means I'll have to raise approximately $20,000 total. So that's the number on the board!

Last year I did stretch goals to unlock website updates for Saturday and Sunday. Some of you thought updating 365 days a week would destroy me. Well, it did not! And so let's keep that going. Stretch goals are in place to elongate those Saturday and Sunday updates for another year. Otherwise Saturday updates end on May 10 and Sunday updates end on May 30.

Smoocharama!

But what are the stretch goals beyond that? Well, let's see.

$20K DOA BOOK 3 <---- FUNDED

$25K SATURDAY UPDATES UNLOCKED <---- FUNDED

$30K SUNDAY UPDATES UNLOCKED <---- FUNDED

$40K SHORTPACKED! BOOK 5 (see below) <---- FUNDED

$45K I WILL SHOW PLEDGERS A FUTURE-STRIP FROM LIKE MAY OR SOMETHING <----FUNDED

$50K PRINT MORE DUMBING OF AGE BOOK 1s <----FUNDED

$70K DOA SLIPSHINE PDF FOR ALL PLEDGERS <----FUNDED

$75K DOA AND SP! SLIPSHINE PDFS FOR ALL PLEDGERS

MORE STRETCH GOALS LATER MAYBE????

Cover to potential Shortpacked! book 5 stretch goal

Just like last year's Roomies! Book 2 stretch goal, this year's second book stretch goal is the much-overdoShortpacked! book 5! (Shortpacked! is my other webcomic which is about a toy store.) Like book 4, it'll be 200 pages and will cost me about $10 per book to print. I'll be printing about 1000 of 'em, and so SP! 5 is unlocked at $40K. The weekend update unlocks will help swallow up the additional tax-and-postage costs for SP! 5.

"Marcie" 8.5x11" print

"Dexter & Monkey Master" 8.5x11" print

"Dorothy and Walky" 8.5x11" print

THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN ME

NEW $75K STRETCH GOAL REWARD:

I've drawn a number of NSFW stories for Slipshine, in both the Dumbing of Age and Shortpacked! universes. They were drawn for Slipshine, they belong to Slipshine, and so they aren't mine to sell. However, Slipshine has decided to gift PDFs of my first two Slipshine stories to all pledgers if we reach $75,000! That's both the Walky/Dorothy (Dumbing of Age) and Robin/Leslie stories (Shortpacked!) which will be made available for pledgers to download after the end of the Kickstarter pledge period. Whether you pledge $5 or $300, these PDFs can be yours!

There is no other way to get these other than being a Slipshine subscriber (which I recommend, because I have other stuff on there, will continue to have more stuff, and everything else on there is pretty swell). Slipshine was very generous in letting me give these out! Hopefully we reach $75k so their generosity can be made real.

Risks and challenges

There are indeed many risks and challenges in getting something like this together. I gotta get books produced and shipped from across the globe to me! And then I gotta mail over a thousand of these books and their rewards to you! And every year the number of you about doubles in size. That's both good and intimidating! But I'm pretty sure I can do it. This is my fourth time!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
About US$ 100

Physical copy of Dumbing of Age Book 3! Doodle and autograph inside! PLUS: I will digitally draw a sweet one-of-a-kind picture of your favorite DoA character specifically for you, suitable for printing and framing. Includes Priority shipping within the United States.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
About US$ 100

Physical copy of Dumbing of Age Book 3! Doodle and autograph inside! Also ALL THREE of the 8.5x11" prints: "Marcie," "Dexter & Monkey Master," and "Dorothy and Walky." Priority shipping to United States included.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 150 or more
About US$ 150

Physical copy of Dumbing of Age Book 3! Doodle and autograph inside! PLUS: I will digitally draw a sweet one-of-a-kind picture of TWO of your favorite DoA characters specifically for you, suitable for printing and framing. Includes shipping ANYWHERE.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 300 or more
About US$ 300

Physical copy of Dumbing of Age Book 3! Doodle and autograph inside! PLUS: I will digitally draw a sweet one-of-a-kind picture of two Dumbing of Age characters of your choice TOTALLY MAKING OUT, suitable for printing and framing. Includes shipping ANYWHERE.